1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to document imaging and processing and more particularly to systems and methods for marking, digitizing and sequencing documents and storing and accessing the same.
2. Background of the Invention
Even with the widespread use of computers in business and in daily life, the use of paper-based documents to record, communicate and store information remains exceedingly popular. Although software applications offer new and improved functions such as character recognition, managed document archival and retrieval and specialized image processing, many businesses can not leverage these capabilities because they maintain a significant amount of information in paper form rather than electronically.
Various other drawbacks are associated with business processes that involve storing large amounts of information in paper form as opposed to maintaining such information electronically. For example, pages can easily be lost or misplaced, large physical spaces may be required for storing the documents, and information may not be readily accessed through search applications which are available for electronically stored information.
In some contexts, even though information was originally created and stored using paper documents, conversion to electronic format via digitization is required for one or more reasons. For example, in the case of litigation, it is often necessary to store, access, produce and analyze a large number of documents associated with the particular dispute.
In almost all cases, and particularly with respect to litigation, it is desirable to access documents, once they have been digitized, in an efficient and consistent manner such that particular documents can be called up via an access system and according to specific criteria.
In the context of litigation, “Bates Numbers” are typically used to identify and sequence documents that are to be scanned. These numbers may comprise any sequential ordering but typically they employ a combined numeric and alphabetic sequencing code which is pre-assigned prior to scanning. In most cases the sequential identifiers are either stamped on the documents themselves via a stamper or labels with the identifiers are created and placed on the documents.
In either of the above cases, the documents themselves are essentially modified prior to scanning by virtue of the stamp or the label which is applied. In some applications this is at best undesirable and at worst unacceptable. Both labels and stamps can obscure textual or graphic information on the documents. In addition, documents can be damaged by the stamping process and/or labeling affixation.
Difficulties in maintaining document integrity and the original ordering also arise during the digitization process. With typical digitization business processes, documents can be lost or caused to be out of order during the time they reside at the scanning location and/or during the scanning process itself.
Yet another problem associated with typical document imaging business processes arises out of the fact that both human and machine error may manifest themselves during the process of scanning of physical documents. As a result, physical documents to be scanned can be lost, never scanned, scanned out of order and/or improperly scanned. Because of this problem it is generally not possible to validate the integrity of the scanned documents, their contents or their ordering. The inability to validate sets of imaged documents to a particular level of probability can, in turn, lead to situations in which the imaging process may not be applicable for a particular need.
For example, in the context of litigation, if document imaging was not originally done according to a process with a sufficient level of integrity verification, then difficulties may arise in connection with how a court treats the available evidentiary universe. Similarly, verification of document integrity can be a concern when documents are specifically imaged after the fact for the purposes of litigation. Imaging processes may also be unusable or suspect in other cases such as in the context of imaging, storing and cataloguing vital records such as birth certificates, passports, financial statements as well as various other governmental and commercial vital records.